2Pr Case Shot

[ron3350]

I show the info posted by 25thapril (Feb 2009) from his post on Australian J mine.
Who has photos of examples of the 2Pr Case shot or examples using USA 37mm Cannister projectiles ?
I guess the 37mm would need necking to hold the projectile firmly. I did not know these types of 2Pr existed.

 

[tigbrand]

Never seen one in over 35 years Ron.

 

[Basilisk]

I've never seen a photo, but I would assume the 37mm markings were the usual type. The round shows up in testing, and small quantities operationally, however it appears that what the 2 pounders were firing was mostly HE at that point anyway. I've not seen any evidence that the 2pr case shot actually went ahead, I couldn't find it in the munitions production summaries when I looked, that doesn't mean it wasn't made, only that I suspect given the apparently low numbers they might have just continued to use the 37mm canister version instead.

 

[ozziammo]

2pde case shot

Ron, I remember seeing a US 37mm canister projectile seated in a 2pdr cart. at the Frank Adlam Memorial Proof Museum which was housed within the Port Wakefield Proof & Experimental Establishment about 20 years ago, unfortunately this museum has been disbanded & the items distributed around various other Defence Dept. Museums. At the time I thought it was a miss match of proj. & cart. Keeping in mind that 2pdr guns were made in Adelaide & tested at P&EE it is quite feasible that the testing of these rounds took place there also! As it was an operational Military base I couldn't take a camera in there to take pics. I don't know where the particular round went.
Regards, Ozzi.

 

[M8owner]

The US 37mm M2 canister projectile is a very sloppy fit to the 2 pounder AT gun case - it falls right into it. The M2 has a bulge in the bottom to engage the rifling in a 37mm barrel, so it was designed to spin and break apart. This would not happen in the larger 40mm/2 pounder barrel. It would not work the same way. Getting canister to work right is very challenging. I should know. I have made and fired many versions for my 37mm cannons. It is not practical to simply make the M2 sheet metal design today. PVC plastic is a more readily available solution. If you make the rounds too robust, then they do not come apart - no good for infantry work. If you make them too fragile or spin, then they spread much too fast and are only good for point blank range. My current solution, impractical for combat, is to make them in two pieces. I use a plastic or wood plug pressed into the shell case to seal the propellent/gases and engage the rifling. I load a plastic tube filled with the lead balls and sand in front of the plug. That is the only way I have been able to guarantee dispersion and range.

 

[Basilisk]

Well I don't know what to tell you. The firing trials conducted seem to have gone well enough. The M2 canister out of a 2 pounder gave something like a 6 degree spread of shot, and met the lethal criteria out to around 170-180 yards or so. The criteria being 1 lethal hit per 10 square feet, or roughly the area of a standing man. The 37mm canister projectile works out of a 40mm 2 pounder about as well as it seems to out of a 37mm gun.

 

[M8owner]

It is possible that the M2 sheet metal/resin design functions in a way that is difficult to duplicate by other means. Perhaps they really knew what they were doing when they made it. I wish there were enough of the originals around for me to test fire one. However, the last one I sold went for $500.